This disclosure relates to extending data flows in a data processing environment.
Simple data types, also referred to as “primitive” and “elementary” data types, cannot be broken down into smaller component data types. In general, simple data types are the basic data types that are predefined in a language for authoring machine-readable instructions. Simple data types include, e.g., character, numeric, string, and Boolean data types. Simple types do not have element content and do not carry attributes.
Complex data types, also referred to as “composite data types” and “data structures,” are assemblies of simple data types. Complex data types can also include other complex data types in the assembly. In general, complex data types are defined by a user to fit the operational context of a particular set of machine-readable instructions (e.g., of a particular program or a particular set of programs). Complex data types include data objects, records, arrays, tables, and the like.
Complex data types can be defined by a user who assembles a set of elements, fields, and/or attributes to form a reusable data structure. Each of these has a type and, as discussed above, hierarchical and recursive complex data types that are themselves assembled from complex data types can be formed. Such definition is generally done prior to deployment of a set of machine-readable instructions, e.g., by a software company before software installation by a customer.
Business objects are abstractions of entities in a business domain. Such entities are generally associated with specific information and participate in specific activities in the business domain. These information and activities can be reflected in the definitions of complex data types in a data processing environment that embody the business objects. For example, a single object data type can encapsulate all of the data and behavior associated with the abstracted entity, although this is not necessarily the case.
Complex data objects can also be used to characterize other abstractions from the business domain or from the data processing activities that are performed in accordance with machine-readable instructions. For example, an interface object can be used to characterize a particular user interface, such as a selection screen or the like. As another example, database objects can be used to characterize particular aspects of a relational database, such as tables, rows, and/or columns in a database.